Actress Pictures

In the 1994 Miss India Contest Rai placed second behind Sushmita Sen and went on to win the Miss World title.
As a professional model, Rai has appeared in many Indian fashion magazines, including the Indian Vogue; more recently she has featured in international ads for L'Oréal, De Beers Diamonds, and Coca-Cola.

The first film she acted in was the popular Tamil movie Iruvar in (1997), directed by Mani Ratnam. Rai's earliest films made money, but Rai herself did not impress critics -- they commented that her performances were stilted, as if she were still modeling.
Her breakthrough came with Sanjay Leela Bhansali's film Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam. Later successes include Taal and Devdas. Rai has also acted in other Tamil films such as Jeans, Kandukondain Kandukondain, and in the Bengali film Chokher Bali.
Devdas, in which Aishwarya joined Bollywood superstars Shah Rukh Khan and Madhuri Dixit, was a huge hit, lavishly produced as it was. The film attracted overseas attention as well, receiving a special screening at the Cannes Film Festival.

Rai was becoming an international star rather than simply a Bollywood one. In 2003, Rai was a member of the jury at Cannes. In 2004, she was chosen by TIME Magazine's Asian Edition as one of Asia's "100 Most Influential People." Rai was the subject of a 60 Minutes profile on January 2, 2005 - "The Most Beautiful Woman in the World." A month later she appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman, and on April 25, 2005, she was featured on Oprah's "Women Across the Globe" segment. A wax figure of Rai is on display in London's Madame Tussaud's wax museum.
Although frequently the subject of gossip column speculation about an imminent Hollywood career, it was only in 2004 that Rai finally acted in a foreign film. British director Gurinder Chadha hired her to play the heroine in Bride and Prejudice, a Hollywood-funded but Bollywood-ized version of Jane Austen's classic novel, Pride and Prejudice. The movie did well at the box office and Aishwarya's Hollywood profile rose a notch.

2008: Untitled Tarun Mansukhani Project
2007: The Last Legiona
2007: The Heart of India
2007: Sarkar 2
2007: Jodhaa Akbar
2007: Provoked
2007: Guru
2006: Dhoom 2
2006: Umrao Jaan
2006: Mistress of Spices
2005: Shabd
2005: Bunty Aur Babli
2004: Raincoat Ajay Devgan
2004: Kyun...! Ho Gaya Na
2004: Khakee
2004: Bride & Prejudice
2003: Kuch Naa Kaho
2003: Dil Ka Rishta
2003: Chokher Bali
2002: Shakti: The Power
2002: Hum Tumhare Hain Sanam
2002: Hum Kisi Se Kum Nahin
2002: Devdas
2002: 23rd March 1931: Shaheed
2001: Albela
2000: Sanam Tere Hain Hum
2000: Mohabbatein
2000: Mohabbatein
2000: Mela
2000: Kandukondain Kandukondain
2000: Josh
2000: Hamara Dil Aapke Paas Hai
2000: Dhaai Akshar Prem Ke
1999: Taal
1999: Ravoyi Chandamama
1999: Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam
1999: Aa Ab Laut Chalen
1998: Jeans
1997: Aur Pyaar
1997: Iruvar